Contemporary Ecopolitical Writings in English from North-East India: a Brief Survey

ISSN: 2349 -2147 Modern Research Studies Editor-in-Chief Gyanabati Khuraijam An International Title: Contemporary Ecopolitical Writings in Journal of English from North-East India: A Brief Humanities and Social Survey Sciences Author/s: Kh. Kunjo Singh www.modernresearch.in Volume 1, Issue 1 June 2014 pp. 35–49. Email: [email protected] [email protected] Managing Editor: Yumnam Oken Singh ISSN: 2349-2147 Modern Research Studies: An International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Contemporary Ecopolitical Writings in English from North-East India: A Brief Survey Prof. KH. KUNJO SINGH Head, Department of English Manipur University, India Abstract: The term ‘ecopolitics’ refers to the various aspects of ecology, biodiversity, ecomysticism, ecofeminism and ecosophy. ‘Ecopolitics’ also known as ‘Green Politics’ will be used as the basic tool for analyzing the writings of the chosen authors from different states of Northeast India. Prose writing in English from Northeast India is a powerful one dealing with the themes of nationhood, identity, insurgency, ethnic violence, corruption in the bureaucracy, home, migration, exile, memory, etc. A regional ecological concern is inherent in most of the writing. The ecological and acoustical world is explored in the plays written in Manipuri and Assamese and translated into English. These plays deal with ecology, myths and legends, tradition, mysticism, etc. There is the enactment of the very idea of ecomysticism – the idea of living together peacefully and maintaining a balance in the entire ecosystem. Contemporary poetry in English from India’s Northeast has multifaceted voices. It presents a vista of images of the mountains, hills, rivers, myths and legends, tradition and culture, and multi-ethnic people of the region. Identity crisis, a sense of alienation and migrancy are some of the dominant features of contemporary politics in the Northeast. The poets of this region strongly advocate preservation of the ecology of their region to preserve their land, native tradition and culture, and above all, their identity amidst cultural and political hegemony. Keywords: Ecopolitics, ecosophy, green politics, ecofeminism, affinity, polemics, degeneration, indigenous, prophetic. Modern Research Studies: ISSN 2349-2147 http://www.modernresearch.in Vol.I. Issue 1 / June 2014 35 Kh. Kunjo Singh – Contemporary Ecopolitical Writings in English from North-East India: A Brief Survey The term ‘ecopolitics’ refers to the various aspects of ecology, biodiversity, ecomysticism, ecofeminism and ecosophy. Ecopolitics covers subjects like checking destruction and degeneration of ecology, mystifying its existence and providing its role in upholding the peace and prosperity of humanity. The present ecological crisis is leading to political, economic and social crisis for human civilization. Discussion on ‘Ecopolitics’ also known as ‘Green Politics’ will be used as the basic tool for analyzing the writings of the chosen authors from different states of Northeast India. Of the many genres, prose writing in English from Northeast India is a powerful one. The dominant themes in both fiction and non- fiction are: nationhood, identity, insurgency, ethnic violence, corruption in the bureaucracy, home, migration, exile, memory etc. A regional ecological concern is inherent in most of the writing. To name some of the representative prose writers of the region, we may mention Mamang Dai, Yeshe Dorji Thongchi (Arunachal Pradesh); Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya, Hem Barua, Indira Goswami, Arup Kumar Dutta, Mitra Phukan, Dhruba Hazarika, Arupa Patangia Kalita, Sanjoy Hazarika, Sanjib Baruah (Assam); Arambam Ongbi Memchoubi, Thingnam Kishan Singh, Tayenjam Bijoykumar Singh, Pradip Phanjoubam, Yumlembam Ibomcha (Manipur); Patricia Mukhim, Siddartha Deb, Anjum Hasan (Meghalaya); Margaret Chalthantluangi Zama, Margaret Lalmuanpuii Pachuau, Mona Zote (Mizoram); Temsula Ao, Easterine Iralu, Charles Chasie, Anungla Aier (Nagaland); etc. Eco-consciousness is a significant feature in the writings of these writers. Arunachal Pradesh writer Mamang Dai’s novel, The Legends of Pensam deals with the ecology of Arunachal Pradesh by merging history, myth, tradition, memory and fiction together. The story revolves around the myths, legends, tradition and culture of the ‘Adis’, one of the major tribes, and re-invents that part of history which is yet unexposed. A world with ecofeministic ideals is vividly seen through the clash between tradition and modernity in the novel. Modern Research Studies: ISSN 2349-2147 http://www.modernresearch.in Vol.I. Issue 1 / June 2014 36 Kh. Kunjo Singh – Contemporary Ecopolitical Writings in English from North-East India: A Brief Survey Birendra Kumar Bhattacharyya, a Jnanpith Awardee and a prominent writer from Assam, in his novel Love in the Time of Insurgency, tells ‘a story that had never been told.’ Set in Nagaland during the World War II, the novel talks about war, love and life in a large dimension. The landscape and the ecology of Nagaland as well as the Northeast India and the environmental degradation due to the war are much talked about in the novel. The novel A Bowstring Winter by Dhruba Hazarika portrays life in Shillong, Meghalaya’s capital city in the 1970s. Shillong with all its ecological features has been projected as the main character of the novel, which is divided into three parts named after three months of the year – “U Naiwieng” (November), “U Nohprah” (December), and “U Kyllalyngkot” (January). The affinity of the tribal people with nature and sharing a deep ecological relationship with it is celebrated in many occasions. In many places in the novel ecomystical sentiments are heard. Another Jnanpith Awardee Indira Goswami, popularly known as Momoni Raisom Goswami, from Assam expresses a strong ecological concern in her novels like Pages Stained with Blood or The Man from Chinnamasta or The Shadow of Kamakhya. The major themes of Goswami’s writings are insurgency in the region, the complexities of modern life and an all pervading love. The plight of women and their trauma in a patriarchal society are touchingly portrayed in most of her writing. The biodiversity of the region, with a rich flora and fauna has been a recurrent presentation in her writings. The peaceful coexistence of man and animal in Northeast India is the dominant feature of her writings. There is ecomystical ideal in her writings. Mitra Phukan, another celebrated Assamese novelist writing in English narrates a touching story of a young lady called Rukmini in her novel A Collector’s Wife. With the probing into the inner life of the protagonist, the story also deals with the atmosphere of terror, violence and insurgency prevailing in Assam during the last three decades. The agitation of the 1970s and 1980s and the growth of full blown insurgency are vividly presented. Moreover, she speaks of the threat Modern Research Studies: ISSN 2349-2147 http://www.modernresearch.in Vol.I. Issue 1 / June 2014 37 Kh. Kunjo Singh – Contemporary Ecopolitical Writings in English from North-East India: A Brief Survey and the sense of insecurity among the indigenous people posed by the illegal migration from Bangladesh and ecological issues are also dealt with in this work. Siddartha Deb from Meghalaya in his debut novel The Point of Return develops the story of father-son relationship. Adjudged a New York Times Notable Book of the year in 2002, the novel is set in an unnamed town, presumably Shillong, the capital city of Meghalaya. This partly autobiographical novel also delves deep into the world of corruption in the bureaucracy, communal violence and ethnic clashes rampant in Meghalaya. One may also have an idea of ecology from a few passages in the novel. His novel Surface is also set in one of the regions in Northeast India. This unnamed remote part of India is referred to as ‘the region’ which might be Manipur, one of the states in India’s northeast. There are a number of references presenting the unique ecology of the land as well as the peaceful co-existence of the local tribes with nature. A Meghalayan poet, novelist and chronicler Anjum Hasan has published two novels Lunatic in My Head (2007) and Neti, Neti (2009), a collection of poems entitled Street on the Hill (2006) and a number of short fictions, reviews and essays in many books and journals. Her debut novel Lunatic in My Head was shortlisted for the Crossword Book Award 2007 and her second novel Neti, Neti was on the long list for the 2008 Man Asian Prize and was shortlisted for the Hindu Best Fiction Award in 2010 and the 2011 DSC Prize for South Asian Literature. In Lunatic in My Head, she talks about roots, identity, clash of culture, home, etc. There are voices in the novel raised on the issue of identity born out of the outsider – insider conflict. The outsider also has an identity crisis, a fear of losing its originality. The outsider – insider conflict has been predominantly a burning issue of politics in the Northeast India since 1947. Politics of displacement, migration, and ever raising voices for new homelands have been ravaging the entire region. An atmosphere of doubt and distrust is created by the polemics of power between the ‘insider’ and the ‘outsider’. The divide between them may also be seen as the postcolonial distance between the ‘self’ and the ‘other’. Modern Research Studies: ISSN 2349-2147 http://www.modernresearch.in Vol.I. Issue 1 / June 2014 38 Kh. Kunjo Singh – Contemporary Ecopolitical Writings in English from North-East India: A Brief Survey Biakliana, the writer of the first ever Mizo novel Hawilopari also wrote the first ever Mizo short story, ‘Lali’ (Zama 2004: 9). This story of a girl called Lali portrays the hopes and aspirations, pain and pleasure, the agony and conflicts of human life. Along with the presentation of some of the traditions of the Mizo society, it also delineates the predicament of women in a male-dominated society. ‘Thunderbird’ by Vanneihtluanga of Mizoram is a short story celebrating the invincible human spirit that has been inspiring human beings, all through the ages to stand against all odds of life.

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